Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Find Your Niche

When people think of advertising and marketing, generally their first thoughts are of television, radio, newspaper and other forms of mass marketing. The problem with mass marketing for the individual, start-up or small company, is that it is terribly expensive. 30 seconds of airtime on television will cost you thousands and thousands of dollars (and millions if you want to be a part of the Super Bowl).
Another problem with mass marketing is that there is a lot of wasted viewership, which equals wasted dollars on individuals who will more than likely never purchase your product. The shotgun approach of mass marketing, while highly visible, is generally not the most effective means of promotion for creators and authors alike.
The solution to this marketing conundrum is segmenting and targeting, which will ultimately lead you to a niche market where your creation can be a success.Segmenting is simply determining the group of individuals who will be interested in your products. Targeting is analyzing your segments to discover which sub-groups will bring the most success and profits to your pocket.
Think of your products; what groups of people would enjoy them? Who among them would most likely be interested in buying your product immediately? How can you reach these sub-groups or niches?
Once you have targeted the appropriate niche for your product (each different product of yours could have a different niche), a zero cost way for you to reach them is to find out where they congregate on the internet; Web sites, message boards, and discussion groups actively viewed by your niche are great places to spread the awareness of your products on YouPublish.
Finding creative and intriguing ways to promote your product to your niche audience is an essential way for you to gain awareness, credibility and success.